Three days after tornadoes devastated the South, the thousands left homeless are emerging as a major problem, reports the LA Times. At least 1,100 are living in emergency shelters, with thousands more in churches or with friends and family. Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox warned of a "humanitarian crisis" if more help did not come soon. "I lost everything I had to Katrina, so I came here," said an 80-year-old man from New Orleans. "Now I lost everything here."
Despite FEMA and contractors trying to move quickly, many residents don't want cheap, prefabricated housing in their neighborhoods. "I don't think any of us would like to see substandard housing built in our areas," Maddox said. "But then, how do you tell someone you're not going to be able to have a home?" And many people fear new storms would be dangerous in trailers or other temporary shelters. "What if another tornado comes?" asked a woman whose family had been sleeping in a gym. "I don't want to live in no trailer." (More Southern tornadoes stories.)